Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Southeastern Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Fort Pierce, Florida 34945
Tuesady, October 4, 2011 7:15 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot taxied the airplane to the end of the runway with the flaps set to three-fourths in preparation for takeoff. As the airplane accelerated down the runway, the tail of the airplane did not rise as the pilot expected, so he extended the flaps fully. As the airplane reached the end of the runway, the pilot believed that the airplane "did not want to fly." He elaborated that, while the engine instruments indicated no abnormalities, the engine was not providing the amount of power he expected and that the airplane's performance was sluggish. He attempted to jettison the loaded chemical to reduce the airplane's weight, but when he attempted to actuate the load-jettison handle, it would not move. As the airplane approached tall trees beyond the end of the runway and with the airplane nearing a stalled condition, the pilot attempted to land the airplane in an agricultural field ahead. During the landing, the airplane nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to the nose, empennage, and left wing. A postaccident examination found no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the engine and that the load jettison mechanism functioned normally. An accurate determination of the airplane's weight at the time of the accident could not be calculated due to variances in the values provided by the pilot and the operator.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's delayed decision to abort the takeoff.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/4/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 715 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Fort Pierce |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 34945 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 272441N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0803134W |
| Event Location Airport | Southeastern Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | FD30 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 23 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 653 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 60 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | FPR |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 23 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 9 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Dawn |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 9 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 18 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 17 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.1 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 29256 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 15 2011 1:16PM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N90805 |
| NTSB Number | ERA12CA003 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 137: Agricultural |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Unknown |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | AIR TRACTOR INC |
| Aircraft Model | AT-502B |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 502B-0597 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 8000 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 8 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 7450 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Southeastern Aerial Crop Service Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2720 SNEED RD |
| Aircraft Owner City | FORT PIERCE |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 34945-4711 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | SOUTHEASTERN AERIAL CROP SERVICE INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 2720 SNEED RD |
| Operator City | FORT PIERCE |
| Operator State | FL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 34945-4711 |
| Operator Code | SXNG |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Agriculture |
| Operator Certificate Number | SXNG335I |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Aerial Application |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | FD30 |
| Departure City | Fort Pierce |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 715 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | FD30 |
| Destination City | Fort Pierce |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 9 2011 3:42PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 09 |
| Runway Length | 2600 |
| Runway Width | 14 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |